Building a business in an emerging market can have its share of burdens. How do you reach the right audience? What’s the best way to market and attract consumers? What are the next steps you should take? One great part of building in a new industry is getting to make your own path. An unexplored field can give entrepreneurs and business owners the power to do things their way. We had the chance to sit down with Mike McDevitt, CEO of Terra’s Kitchen to learn more about his background, the company, and future challenges.
Can you tell us more about Terra’s Kitchen and about your business background?
Terra’s Kitchen is a purpose-driven company that wants to make our modern lives more meaningful by creating authentic experiences in the heart and soul of the home—the kitchen.
Dinnertime is hectic—a bottleneck of trips to the grocery and rushed preparation. So here at Terra’s Kitchen we’ve figured out how to strip away the least desirable aspects of making a healthful, home-cooked meal—the shopping and messy preparation—and leave our members with the value-rich experience of cooking and eating together. Come the 5 o’clock hour, we love being the little difference maker two or three times a week that takes families from frantically treading water to expertly riding the waves.
Our members get the ease of making an entire balanced meal in less than 30 minutes from start-to-finish, along with the assurance that our ingredients are of the highest quality. Dishes like our popular Grilled Chicken Tacos with Avocado Goat Cheese Sauce— charred corn tortillas loaded with tender grilled chicken, tangy smooth avocado goat cheese sauce, and house-made pico de gallo, for the finish—prove that good cooking doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming.
In short, we thoughtfully harvest the earth’s best products and deliver them straight from the farm to our members’ kitchens—like the modern version of the milkman, except we offer a lot more than just milk.
My background is in rapidly growing consumer goods companies in the health and wellness industry.
How do you approach your role as CEO in such a relatively new market? Are there any major differences you encountered?
While the market of E-Com fresh food is relatively new, the model of direct response marketing is tried and true. The majority of my past experience is very relevant. It is so much fun to run a business that is providing a product that I always dreamed to be a consumer of. I literally have built a business that meets a need that myself and all my friends and family had.
What future challenges do you anticipate in the meal delivery industry?
Scaling the business, while still meeting and exceeding consumers wants and expectations will be a challenge for many.
As your company continues to grow and expand, what advice do you have for fellow leaders on making sure expansion goes smoothly in their company?
Keep your finger on the consumers pulse. Consumers will drive where the industry goes, so keeping focus on the pulse of the consumer is critical for any company, especially those anticipating rapid growth.
Where do you see Terra’s Kitchen in the next 5 years?
I see Terra’s Kitchen as a business that has helped to connect millions of families around their dinner table. Couples having deeper relationships, kids learning about cooking and nutrition, communities getting stronger by having more social gatherings over food and wine, lots of wine. Just saving the world, one family at a time.
Why do you think the DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area is such a good place for entrepreneurs and businesses?
Connectivity. We are so lucky to live in an area with great education, infrastructure, opportunities, etc. Those things all breed an environment for growth, an environment for great people to be creative and focused in developing those ideas and technologies, with the support of an invested community.
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